Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Survey: iPhone meets the Jetsons (Win $50 Amazon)

Hello readers. I know that Mrs. FixIt has a larger following on this blog than I do. I have the opportunity to work with a Startup being developed at Northwestern University. The company is called SWITCH. We are frustrated with the state of home automation and would like to Fix It. The future depicted by the Jetsons way back in the early 60s is still far out. We have phones that remind us to pick things up from a store when we pass by the store. We can have music services play music based on our mood. You can buy something online and have it on your door the next day. We can carry a 1000 books on a device the size of a small notepad.

Why is it so difficult and expensive to automate or integrate systems in my home?

iOS and Android opened up a whole new opportunity for making our phones smart. Our phones have become an extension of ourselves. SWITCH plans on developing a platform to make a similar opportunity where developers can create apps to work with integrated components in the home. The potential is limitless.

If interested, please take a moment to fill out the survey. At the end you can register to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.

I have been focused on Home Automation ever since I was a teenager. It is awesome, but very frustrating. This is truly something I have been getting excited about.

We also have the Nest in the FixIt household. I assume it is doing its thing. We need to check in and see how the Nest is doing. I do wish it had Zwave such that it could integrate with other Zwave devices in our home. Rumors are that it has Zigbee, but Zigbee really does not have any product out there.